Mankunku Quartet

A real treasure from the South African scene of the 60s – and the kind of record that we thought wasn't being made until the following decade!

Tenorist Winston Mankunku Ngozi rivals the genius of Coltrane and Wayne Shorter here – both artists to whom he dedicates a key track on the album – and the record's hardly just a South African jazz effort, as it's got this long-flowing spiritual energy that rivals some of the best American work on Impulse or Blue Note at the time – but, like the best of those records, never does so in any sort of slavish way at all!

Instead, Ngozi really finds his own voice here – blowing tenor with a great amount of depth, in a quartet that often hits these modal currents that work great with his horn – a lineup that features Lionel Pillay on piano, Agrippa Magwaza on bass, and Early Mabuza on drums. Incredibly hip and soulful, no matter what the origin – and titles include "Yakhal Inkomo", "Dedication", "Doodlin", and "Bessie's Blues".

PERSONNEL:

• Winston "Mankunku" Ngozi - (tenor sax)
• Lionel Pillay - (piano)
• Agrippa Magwaza - (bass)
• Early Mabuza - (drums)

Recorded on 23 July, 1968 in the Johannesburg Studios of Manley Van Niekerk

TRACKS:

• SIDE A
• A1. Yakhal' Inkomo
• A2. Dedication (To Daddy Trane And Brother Shorter)

• SIDE B
• B1. Doodlin'
• B2. Bessie's Blues